Palantir Technologies ( PLTR ) is on fire.
But don't just take our word for it; ask Alex Karp. He'll tell you.
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"I think it is fair to say we crushed Q1 in the U.S.," Karp told analysts back in May. "We are on fire."
As to why the data-analysis-software provider, co-founded by the billionaire investor Peter Thiel in 2003, is winning in the U.S., Karp said Palantir "built software infrastructure that allows enterprises, both commercial and government, to move beyond chat, move beyond self-pleasuring, to actually produce things that are valuable."
"I dare remind people that there was a time when no one thought we'd be profitable, when no one thought we could crack commercial, where revenue per person was called into question," he said.
Karp said the company does face headwinds in Europe, where 16% of its business is located.
"Europe is gliding toward 0% GDP growth over the next couple of years," he said. "That is a problem for us. There is no easy remedy for that. It is also the case, though, that U.S. [comparisons] surpassed U.S. European commercial, and we see that as favorable."
While the company’s sales are driven largely by helping the U.S. government with its counterterrorism efforts, Palantir has also pushed more deeply into managing, interpreting and reporting data for large companies.
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Palantir CEO 'super-proud of the results'
Karp said "there are lots of questions about why we are so active in defending the values of the West."
And then he went to town.
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"Our belief is that the West is a superior way to live, and our ways of organizing around that are the reason why our products are transformative," he said.
"The reason why we have the best people in the world," Karp continued, "the reason why a Palantir degree, as it were, is much more valuable than an Ivy League degree because the Ivy Leagues ... embraced the thin and new woke religion, otherwise, viewed as an intellectual cause, but, in fact, is a way of organizing things so that the greatest institutions of our time disappear and turn into discriminatory dysfunction."
Palantir, Karp added, "is a counter-example, and I'm super-proud of the results."
Palantir reported first-quarter adjusted earnings of 8 cents a share on revenue of $634 million, compared with Wall Street’s consensus estimate of 8 cents a share on $625 million.
Investors have bet that the company’s foothold in artificial-intelligence technologies would drive faster earnings growth.
An important aspect of that outlook has been the group's AIP Logic platform, which enables companies to build specific functions that leverage its large language models without having to use complex computer coding.
"The continued interest in AIP is loud and clear in the conversations I'm having across our customer base," said Ryan Taylor, chief revenue officer and chief legal officer. "We've shared our plans to capture the market with AIP. And our results show that our strategy is not only succeeding, it is accelerating."
In May, the stock saw its biggest one-day decline in two years, pegged at 15%, after the company forecast full-year revenue in the region of $2.68 billion to $2.69 billion, which came up short of Wall Street estimates.
Palantir is scheduled to report second-quarter earnings on Aug. 5 and analysts have adjusted their price targets for the company's stock.
Citi: Palantir Q2 'will still be somewhat choppy'
Citi raised the firm's price target on Palantir to $28 from $25 and affirmed a neutral rating on the shares as part of a second-quarter earnings preview for the analytics software space.
While Citi is more constructive on the data and analytics group in the medium term as a beneficiary of tailwinds from generative artificial intelligence, it says the second quarter "will still be somewhat choppy."
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The investment firm sees "solid Commercial momentum" for Palantir, though also some "Government uncertainty."
Citi expects Palantir to deliver a one-point beat on top-line metrics for Q2, with potential upside on profitability metrics.
The firm said it remained positive following a recent visit to Palantir's headquarters, which left its analysts "incrementally positive on Commercial/AIP momentum."
“Government contracts still seem depressed, though our conversations with management highlighted confidence for acceleration in the long term but expressed some caution near term,” Citi said.
“Recent government data ... indicates a steep decline of more than 60% driven by a [Defense Department] contract which might had included some catchup payment last 2Q," the firm said.
Jefferies weighs in on Palantir Q2
Jefferies raised its price target on Palantir to $28 from $24 and affirmed a hold rating on the shares ahead of the second quarter report.
The investment firm called Palantir the most expensive name in its coverage, with the shares trading at 19 times estimated 2025 revenue. Jefferies analysts noted that they find it difficult for the stock to work at that multiple.
However, Palantir has had back-to-back quarters of solid execution, and the company offers a "rare blended" artificial intelligence apps/infrastructure asset with near-term revenue momentum, the firm said.
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